The invention relates to roller skates and brakes usable with such skates and provides a safer, more effective, easier to use brake suitable for both experienced and inexperienced skaters.
Roller skate frames generally have a brake at either the front or rear thereof, with the rear position being the more frequently used position because a brake at the front of the skate requires the skater to lean forward to engage the brake and can adversely affect the skater's balance and even cause the skater to fall.
Rear positioned roller skate brakes are actuated by the skater pivoting rearwardly about the axis of the rear skate wheel and swinging the skate from the normal coasting position to a braking position where the brake drags against the road surface and brings the skater to a stop. Brakes such as these are shown in the following patents:
______________________________________ 3,287,023 G. K. Ware November 22, 1966 2,826,422 C. W. Snyder March 11, 1958 2,343,007 M. Goldenberg February 29, 1944 805,942 G. M. Beals November 28, 1905 4,392,659 K. Yoshimoto July 12, 1983 4,273,345 Ben Dor et al June 16, 1981 ______________________________________
While many different brakes have been used at the rearmost end of roller skates, most such brakes have a pad which is generally circular in cross section. When the road engaging end of such brakes is urged against the road, only a small portion of the braking surface actually contacts the road surface until the brake has become notably worn. This results in poorer braking results until the brake pad has been broken in. A structure of this type and which is part of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,523 issued Mar. 20, 1990 wherein the brake pad has a circular cross section pad with a base having a curved surface and positioned rearwardly of the skate frame wherein the brakes must be pivoted through approximately fifteen degrees to be brought into contact with the road surface. Only after a break-in period will more than a fractional part of that brake pad's road snagging surface contact the road, and to do so the skate will have to be pivoted through an angle of between seventeen and twenty degrees.
An effective brake assembly positioned rearward of the skate must not extend sideward beyond the width of the skate frame, or the brake may snag on roadside obstacles and affect the skater's balance or cause him to fall. An effective rear mounted brake must also be configured to avoid snagging when the skater encounters an incline such as a driveway apron or when he crosses irregular height cracks on sidewalks or roads. Prior art brakes have avoided the problem of dragging when incline or cracks are encountered by spacing the brake pad sufficiently upward from the road surface to avoid unwanted contact Typically, a skater must pivot such a brake through an arc of at least fifteen degrees and often even more to bring the brake pad into frictional contact with the road surface.
While such high positioning of the brake does avoid snagging of the brake, the arc which is required to be spanned before braking can occur forces the skater to move his foot through such a large arc that he must jeopardize his balance in order to apply the brake. An inexperienced skater finds it very intimidating to pivot his foot rearwardly through fifteen or more degrees in order to get the brake working, and this large arc has made many new skaters reluctant to use roller skates. Whith these problems in mind there is a real need for an improved brake mechanism which can be actuated with less pivoting by both experienced and inexperienced skaters.
Prior art brake systems have positioned their brake pads so that only a fractional part of the road engaging braking surface contacts the road surface when the brake is first employed. As the brake wears away during break-in use, the surface area which engages the road surface gradually increases. However, in order to apply that increasing braking surface to the road, a still greater arc of swing must be completed by the skater to bring the more worn brake pad to the road surface. It is desirable that the brake be configured to provide a maximum level of friction surface immediately on deployment without requiring a break-in period.
Still a further difficulty with known brakes is that as the brake pad wears down, and the brake becomes less effective, many skaters do not initially realize the serious wear that has occurred and they replace the brake only when the unit has failed so severely as to be inoperative or after the skate frame has been damaged. It is desirable to provide a mechanism to alert the skater to the need of replacing the brake pad before the pad is dangerously unusable.
In providing a solution to these problems, a working brake housing and pad must also be lightweight, strong, durable and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The invention described hereafter provides a solution for these needs and provides a much improved brake system.